When Bollywood stars spoke from their hearts

Every film journalist is more than familiar with the professional and personal lives of the stars - from the A- to the Z-listers. Believe me, the journalist doesn't have to ferret out the details himself or herself. It's all there, day after day, since tabloids and website portals rapidly refresh their content, as if on auto-pilot, about who's doing what, where and with whom.
Much of this Bollywood information, if you can call it that, is spoon fed to the media by PR agencies or sourced from stars' posts on their social media accounts. Plus quotes are rehashed from sound bytes over genial chat shows on television.
Be it short-term liaisons, break-ups and patch-ups, favourite restaurants, costume and accessory stylists, gymming regimens or overseas travel plans, journalists don't have to go on an investigative spree or undertake any form of sleuthing about their star subjects any more. And to think there was a time when scoops meant something more than just a generous helping of vanilla ice-cream atop a cone.
So what am I trying to say this weekend? Simply this, that there is one aspect of showbiz stars which hasn't been dealt with at all: their human factor. Behind the glamour façade, which endemically engenders narcissism, there's still a bunch of stars who opt for one-to-one interviews (preferably not quickies over the phone), admit to their frailties and insecurities, and, because of their frank-speak, emerge as vulnerable as you and I.
Of the senior generation, Dilip Kumar and Dharmendra stand tall among those who wouldn't put on masks and establish a squeaky-clean image. If the former had rushed into a hush-hush nikaah with Asma Khan in 1982, enraging his wife Saira Banu, he chose to speak up about it. No faux denials were issued. Similarly, Dharmendra didn't deny his second marriage to Hema Malini.
Neither did they court the press to write favourably about their indiscretions. During their heyday, Dilip Kumar and Dharmendra were accessible to journalists and relished conversations that were discursive. If any uncomfortable questions were asked, they didn't throw a flaming fit.
Of the heroines, Rakhee Gulzar wouldn't mince words about her separation from her lyricist-filmmaker husband. On her part, Rekha would dole out interviews in a clear bid to sustain her mystique of a diva. Read between the lines and her allusions to a certain "he" in her life would become clearer than crystal. Ma'am Rekha maintained an agenda but it yielded copy which was not only honest but revelatory. Still does.
These days, such an open-door policy is unthinkable, leading to the deification of stars, who like it or not, are guilty of maintaining a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde kind of dual personality. Little is known, for instance, about the repercussions of Priyanka Chopra's heartbreak. Kangana Ranaut projects herself as a woman of steel who has overcome insurmountable odds by sustaining her acrimonious truth-or-dare game with Hrithik Roshan - but, still, there are missing pieces in the puzzle.
Of course, Deepika Padukone has had the guts to go on record about her struggle to overcome depression. As for her impending marriage to Ranveer Singh, who's a total contrast to her introverted personality, there has been no explanation, except if you apply the deductive logic that opposites attract.
A thick veil hangs over the images of the current generation of actors. Yesteryear's marquee toppers were quite transparent. Take the case of Rishi Kapoor, who will readily admit that, "I'm a tough guy to live with", and acknowledge that, at one stage, his marriage had hit the rocks. And so had his father Raj Kapoor's vis-à-vis a romance with his Sangam heroine Vyjayanthimala.
Over to the three Khans. Over the decades, Salman, Aamir and Shah Rukh have been involved in more controversies and link-ups than their seniors. But will they ever indulge in candid talk? Not likely. Expectedly, then, the trio condescends to questions-and-answers strictly to publicise their upcoming movies.
Salman is identified with the maxim 'Being Human'. I, for one, would like to know the unstarry side of the superstar. Salman is a curious phenomenon for sure. Like Sanjay Dutt, he has the knack of running into trouble. Some day, would he accede to a tell-all? Silly question that. At a film event, Salman confessed he would never be able to authorise a biography on his career and life. Chapter closed.
The younger stars - notably Varun Dhawan, Ranveer Singh, Ranbir Kapoor, Sidharth Malhotra and Alia Bhatt - also seem to follow a "we'll-talk-this-far-no-further" policy, which is why they have never been placed in the dock.
Consequently, we know every little facet of star lives except for that crucial component: how human are they? A pity that. After all, there is much more to them behind those smiles and tears, enacted before the camera and in orchestrated media campaigns.
wknd@khaleejtimes.com